CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—A National University Bulldog replaced a former one in the Philippine Men’s National Volleyball Team with Josh Retamar taking the setter spot in place of Kim Dayandante.
Dante Alinsunurin said Retamar will now be one of the setters in the 20-man pool that will represent the Philippines in the Southeast Asian Games and other future tournaments.
“Kim is not part of the 20 anymore but he’s still training with us and I always tell him to just continue working hard,” said Alinsunurin, who’s also the head coach of NU, in Filipino.
“The reason why I took Joshua is because we needed the height and when we played in Thailand we saw that we really needed it.”
Retamar’s inclusion into the pool, however, were met with raised eyebrows with some feeling Vince Mangulabnan, the newly-minted Best Setter in the Spikers’ Turf Reinforced Conference, should’ve gotten the nod.
Alinsunurin, though, defended his decision saying that when his team played in the 2019 Sealect Tuna Championships in Thailand the likes of Jessie Lopez, Ish Polvorosa, and Dayandante became targets of the opponents’ hitters when they are switched to the front.
This liability in front of the net was what pushed Alinsunurin to push the 6-foot Retamar into the lineup instead of the 5-foot-10 Dayandante.
“We really saw our lack of height when we played in Thailand because the hitters always targeted our smaller setters,” said Alinsunurin. “We need the height now and it will also help in surprising our opponents because they would never think that we have a setter this tall.”
The Philippine Sports Commission has approved Retamar’s papers and the playmaker will undergo the required medical clearance in the next weeks.